


Witness Protection

by ConstantlyComic



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Logyn - Freeform, at least it's mentioned, sort of, spoilers in tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-03 10:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1069374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantlyComic/pseuds/ConstantlyComic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When she found herself lost among her people, the only one who still believed her unable to protect her, she decided to hide in the last place anyone would expect...</p><p>A new Gifted has appeared, and the team goes on a mission they assume will be routine.  But when they stumble upon a woman in hiding, will they be able to help her?  Will they even want to try?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Teaser

It was a day like any other. The library was quieter than it had been, the after-school crowd come and gone. All that remained were one librarian, a page, and several patrons hunting down one last book or cramming as much as they could into their free Internet time as the clock ticked closer and closer to closing. The library closed at seven, as was the usual, and the librarian made sure that everyone was out before she locked up and left at seven-thirty. 

And, as had happened before, a man who had previously been using a public access computer started following her from a distance.   
This time, though, was slightly different, as it had begun to rain and the librarian had left her umbrella at home. As she cut through a lonely gap between buildings, the man continued to follow her, and although she was still a good distance away, she heard a voice hiss, “I know what you are.”  
She ignored it and sped up, hoping beyond hope that the voice was just the wind. But no luck. “I know who you are,” the voice hissed again, and she cursed under her breath as she heard the footsteps coming closer. 

“My lady,” the voice taunted as the man stood behind her, lips unmoving. The librarian whirled around, her hand moving inhumanly quickly to press two fingers against his head. A bright light glared from the point of contact, causing the man’s eyes to roll up into his head and his legs to give out from under him.  
The librarian took a step back from the unconscious man, lowering her hand and wincing. She hadn’t meant it to be that bright, or that strong. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was rushing towards them, then turned and hurried along her way home.   
It may have been nothing, an abnormal happening masked by a normal night, were it not for the teenager not far away holding a dog’s leash in one hand and a smartphone in the other.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet this week's mysterious individual.

"Is this going to take much longer?" Agent Ward asked, resisting the urge to rip off the sensors Simmons had stuck on his head. "Just a little bit," the biologist reassured him as she glanced at the readings on her screen, "Have you been feeling any different?" she asked, "Any angrier than usual?" Ward shook his head. "No more than I have been since the staff."

As Dr. Randolph had said, the strength had worn off before too long—leaving him bedridden for about a day—but the rage had yet to clear. He still didn’t want to wait the couple of decades he’d mentioned for it to dissipate, though, so Simmons had been trying to figure out what exactly had caused it and how to reverse it. Simmons sighed, annoyed at her readings. She still had yet to isolate the problem, despite multiple scans. It was almost like magic, if such a thing could exist. Which it couldn’t. ”I don’t understand,” she said with another sigh, “There should be something here, some sort of chemical spike at least, but I still don’t see anything.”

"Then maybe you should just stop trying." Ward ripped the sensors off and began to walk away, "I can deal with this." He had about gotten used to it, it seemed. With each day, it was becoming harder to remember what it had been like to not feel that hatred in the back of his head constantly. Simmons opened her mouth to say something, but by the time she had, he had already left. "Fine then," she muttered, "Excuse me for trying to help." She shook her head and returned to her readings, seeing if she could figure out what was going on.

As Ward strode out of the lab, he was almost immediately intercepted by Skye. "Still no luck with the rage?" she asked, glancing at his face. The agent turned his head and glared at the floor away from her. Skye winced. "No, huh. Sorry for bringing it up. Anyway, Coulson wanted me to get you. Looks like something's up. And, umm..." she bit her lip and glanced down at his feet before adding, "just so you know, the offer still stands. Shoulder, available. If you get sick of holding it in." Not that she thought he would go for it, but well... it was worth a shot.

* * *

 

As soon as they reached Coulson's office, the two were greeted with images of two silhouetted figures, one touching the other's head and a bright light radiating from the point of contact. "Oh hey, I've seen this!" Skye pointed at one of the images almost immediately, "This is from that viral video, what was it called..."

"Psychic Woman Owns Creep," Coulson said from his desk, "I've seen it. We thought it was faked at first, but evidence has risen to the contrary." He stood up and indicated the figure on the receiving end of the light, then pulled another picture up, this one of a middle-aged man. "The recipient of the 'owning' has been identified as one Everett Lee of Arcadia Lakes, South Carolina. Mr. Lee says he doesn't remember much--in his words, 'it was like being on autopilot'--but is fairly certain the other person in the video is this woman." Another picture appeared, this one of a brown-haired woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties.

"That's our psychic woman?" Skye asked. "Gifted woman," Ward replied almost instantly, "we've been over the psychic thing." The hacker sighed and rolled her eyes, then looked to Coulson and grinned. "She could be psychic, right?" Coulson actually hesitated. "Probably not." Skye shot her SO a triumphant gesture and a mouthed, 'Psychic!'

"What we do know," Coulson continued, " is that her name's Anna Gardner, and she started working at the Northeast Regional library in Arcadia Lakes about six months ago. Since then, there have been several reports of people turning up unconscious with barely any idea of how they got there." "And we think Ms. Gardner has something to do with that," Ward stated, glancing back at the image. "So, when do we get there?"

* * *

The librarian known as Anna Gardner made it home without any encounters this time, thankfully.  She was still more than a little jumpy after last time, especially now that it had gone viral.  At least the image was dark enough that no one knew it was her.  Besides, clearly someone had already found her, if the beings coming after her were any indication.  And she was holding them off well enough for now.  She knew she probably should have found somewhere else to live by now, stayed on the move, but she was falling in love with the town.  With a small chuckle, she reflected that she had a bad habit of falling in love with things that got her into trouble.

She hung her coat on the coat rack just inside the door of her apartment, then headed into the kitchenette, extracting a slice of leftover pizza from the minifridge and carefully placing it in the microwave, as if she still wasn't used to the device.  While the microwave hummed, she got herself a cup of water, and was ready as soon as it beeped.  As she settled herself down in a chair with her meager meal, she took a moment to look around the small apartment and sigh.  It wasn't home.  It was barely even safe.  But it was something.  And in its own way, it was enough.

She was just about to take the first bite when she heard the knock on her door.  She froze for a split second.  They had never come as far as her home before, but she had placed wards just in case.  Still... would they hold?  She closed her eyes, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself.  Maybe it wasn't them.  Maybe it was the girl from the floor below selling cookies.  Yes.  That had to be it.  Slowly, she stood up and forced herself to walk to the door, bracing herself just in case the wards didn't hold.  "I'm sorry, but I don't want to buy any..." she began, only to trail off when she saw the two suited men standing there.

"Anna Gardner?" the older of the two men asked.  When she nodded, he continued, "I'm Agent Coulson, with SHIELD.  This is Agent Ward.  We'd like to talk to you about some things that have been happening..."  She didn't wait for him to finish.  As had happened with the last one, she began to reach out for him, her fingers beginning to light up, only for her hand to stop just short of the man's head.

She turned her head, trying to see what had happened, only to see that the other man, Agent Ward, was holding her wrist.  Acting almost instinctively, she stepped forward, ramming into him, then took the opportunity to press the fingers of her other hand against his head.  A light flashed...

And nothing happened.

She took a step back--or as far back as she could with her wrist still held--staring at the younger man like a deer in headlights.  "No..." she murmured under her breath, "You can't...  How?"  She hadn't seen anything like this for an extremely long time.  Her gaze flipped between the two men, and a moment passed like that in tense silence, which was finally broken by Agent Coulson.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to have to insist."

She closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.  "Fine," she said, her tone as hard as she could make it, "call off your berzerker, and we'll talk."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aah, the good old ending-the-chapter-with-a-wham-line trick. I'll try my hardest to get the next chapter up sometime within the next week or so, but after that I can make no promises. I actually still haven't figured out how I'm going to end this thing.
> 
> Now, if anyone reading this actually lives in or near Arcadia Lakes and wants to tell me about how I got things wrong about the town, I just pulled a town name from a list, so I'm sorry about that.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah... Chapter 2 was kind of bothering me with its lack of decent editing and whatnot, so I redid it. The old one's still on my tumblr, if you preferred it, and I kept almost everything the same, except who was where when. I think the pacing's a little better in this draft. Anyway, I'm looking for a beta now for the rest of this thing, so hopefully this won't happen again. Enjoy!

"I suppose I should thank you for extending your hospitality, Mister... Coulson, was it?" Anna Gardner asked, her voice deceptively calm (yet still trembling slightly) as she looked around the interrogation room, "but I am unsure what you were trying to accomplish by bringing me here before I could finish my pizza." The two were alone in the room, but Ward was standing guard outside the room, and Fitzsimmons were staring intently at the screen because they were insanely curious about the possibility of another Asgardian on Earth.

"I think you and I both know why I brought you here," Coulson replied. "There's something you're hiding from us. I want to know why. I want to know how you knew about my agent's condition." "What I did didn't work on him," she replied, "the only time I saw that happen before was when the Allfather first had men use the Berzerker Staves." A nervous smile crept onto her face. "I'm not trying to hide what I am, Mister Coulson. If you know of Berzerker Staves--if one of your men has used one--then you know I am of Asgard."

Coulson's nostrils flared slightly--he hadn't expected her to be so forward about where she was from. Although, he figured, it could only be because she was hiding something else. One revelation meant to draw attention from another. "You're right," he replied as he sat down across from her, looking into her face. "We do know what you are. What we don't know is who you are. You only arrived in Arcadia Lakes six months ago, and since then we know there have been more incidents than the one in that video."

* * *

Meanwhile, Fitzsimmons and Skye—now that they had their confirmation—were occupied with a call to Dr. Randolph. Or at least an attempt at one. Right then, instead of speaking with him via video feed, they were looking at an empty chair while hearing him speak in the distance. “Look, I’m sorry,” said the off-camera voice, “but I’m really not feeling well. Could you come back another time?”

* * *

She visibly paled at his phrasing, and at the mention of the incidents, she looked down, unable to meet his gaze. "I... I move around. You stay in one place too long, people start to realize you're immortal, you know? I don't know about the incidents. All I did was knock out a guy who was harassing me."

"I doubt that." He leaned forward slightly. "Whatever caused those people to black out came to Arcadia Lakes with you." He paused significantly. "And unless I'm mistaken, you haven't been here long enough for people to notice your immortality. You only came here recently."

* * *

They must’ve tried at least six times before the Asgardian finally answered. “Sorry about that,” he said, “some people just can’t take a hint. Anyway, I take it this isn’t a social call. What did you find?”

* * *

Anna's gaze snapped back up to Coulson's face, blue eyes widening. "How did you know?" she asked. "You knew enough of the incidents to know what I was talking about," he replied, "that the blackouts were related to the man you knocked unconscious. Your speech patterns were a clue too. It's still pretty formal, and you've picked up some American slang, but not much. Now," he softened his stare slightly as he looked her in the eyes, "You can trust us, Miss Gardner. Who are you, really?"

* * *

“It’s really more of a who,” Simmons answered, tilting her head slightly. Fitz picked up her statement. “She’s calling herself Anna Gardner. We found her in South Carolina She claims to be from Asgard…” “But we want to be sure,” the biologist finished. Dr. Randolph raised an eyebrow. “So you ask me? Look, just because she might be from Asgard doesn’t mean I knew her. It’s been centuries.”

“Can you please just take a look?” Simmons asked, causing him to grin slightly. “How could I say no to such beauty?” Skye drowned out Fitz’s huff with a few keyboard strokes and a, “Patching the feed through to you now.”

* * *

Anna's breathing was shaky, her eyes fixed on Coulson's, gauging him, trying to figure out how much she could trust him with. Finally, she sighed and began explaining. "My name is Sigrun," she began, "I am a healer. Throughout my duties, I made some... unpleasant connections, one of which has decided to come after me. I thought this would be a good place to hide." Some of the nerves left her eyes and she started to glare at him. "Does that answer your question?" She clenched her fists at her sides, silently resolving not to stay anything more.

* * *

Realization dawned on Dr. Randolph’s face shortly after the woman said she was a healer. “You’re in luck,” he told the agents, “I actually do know this one. She really is a healer. She came down here a little after I did, patched some of us up. I remember her telling me once she didn’t much like healing people like me.” His voice went higher-pitched for a moment in his best impersonation of her. It wasn’t very good, “Couldn’t knock us out or numb the pain. You can imagine the issues.”

* * *

“Well no need to worry about hiding for now,” Coulson reassured her, “You’re perfectly safe here.” Sigrun shook her head. “No,” she asserted, “I was much safer in my apartment. You have no idea the danger I’m in here.” Now she looked a little desperate, “Please, just let me go back. I swear I mean no one any harm.”

* * *

“What was that about hiding?” Skye asked, “Any idea what that might mean?” Dr. Randolph shrugged. “Not sure,” he admitted, “she went back to Asgard not long after she arrived. Something about…” he stopped abruptly and his eyes widened. “No,” he murmured, “no way.”

“What?” all three demanded at once. He disappeared from the screen for a moment, then reappeared with a book. “I remember when this one started circulating,” he muttered to himself, ignoring their questioning, “Tell Coulson to see if she responds to the name Sigyn.”

“She already told us her name,” Fitz said at the same time Simmons protested, “I thought you said you knew her.” The Asgardian sighed, “Not her name! I remember her voice and her breasts, not much else. Just do it.” Skye got right on it, immediately calling Ward’s communicator and relaying the message to him.

* * *

Sigrun jumped when she heard a rapping on the door, and then visibly paled at Agent Ward’s entrance. “Please,” she asked Coulson, even as Ward quietly informed him of Dr. Randolph’s message “could he leave? There’s no need…” Coulson, meanwhile, nodded to Ward, then indicated for him to stay. “Why, Sigyn?” he asked, turning back to her, “is there something wrong?”

“How…” She visibly trembled, “That’s not my name.” The lie was painfully transparent, and everyone in the room could tell. “How’d you know?”

* * *

Simmons asked, glancing from the feed to the video call. The Asgardian just shook his head, “Get her the hell out of there now. You won’t like what comes to find her.”

“Who is she?” Skye demanded, “What’s coming for her?” “Don’t know your mythology, do you?” he asked, “After all, you’re the ones who arrested Loki’s wife.”

In the interrogation room, Ward put a hand to his ear, then said to Coulson, “Sir? You might want to leave. There’s something…” Sigyn shook her head fervently, “No,” she said, “please don’t leave me alone with him.” “You’d rather be alone with someone your husband murdered?”

“What?” Coulson stared intently at Sigyn, as if seeing her in a new light. “You’re…” She sighed, sounding more exasperated, “Yes,” she said, “And I apologize on his behalf for whatever he did, but please, if you value your life and the life of everyone on this vessel, get your man out of here.” “Was that a threat?” Ward took a step closer to her. She raised her hands defensively, “No, it was not. You do not understand. The… the being that is after me, he and his followers can take over others minds, and it is so much easier to do to a berserker.” She turned back to Coulson and repeated, “Please.”

Coulson looked between the two, the fugitive and his agent, then said, "Fine. Ward, if you could leave us alone."

The hissing chuckle that filled the room took both of them off guard. "I'm sorry... Coulson, right?" Ward blinked and his eyes changed to a solid red, "I'm afraid Agent Ward isn't home right now. And I've got business with the Trickster's slut here. Isn't that right, Sig?" "One of his followers?" Coulson asked softly as Sigyn took steps back against the wall, trembling. "No," she answered, "he came himself." She slowly leveled a stare at the man, like a deer in headlights. "Mephisto."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. A little too magical or whatever to introduce to the MCU, but I just kind of have a thing for Mephisto, and he's been frenemies with Loki in the comics, so I just couldn't resist. Also, I'm kind of throwing in some Supernatural-esque stuff for how demons work in this universe, hence the eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> So umm... yeah. Updates are gonna be a little sporadic and kinda short. Sorry about that.


End file.
